 | Obtaining the Mouse Pointer Screen Co-ordinates
Most software that uses the mouse cursor's position only needs to obtain the co-ordinates whilst the mouse pointer is within one of its windows. However, some programs require the screen co-ordinates, even if the pointer is outside of a window. |
| Controlling the Console Window Size
When developing console applications it may be necessary to determine the size of the current window, or to change the dimensions for a specific purpose. These tasks are both made possible using the Console class. |
| A Text-Based Box Generator
When working with console applications, or when adding to a log file, it is often useful to highlight elements of the text. One way in which to achieve this is to draw a box around the text, using standard symbols from the available character set. |
| Detecting Mouse Wheel Movement
The mouse wheel can often provide a handy alternative to slower mouse operations, such as scrolling areas without positioning the cursor within a scroll bar. Many Windows Forms controls have built-in wheel support but custom wheel actions are possible. |
| Clearing the Console
When developing console applications, it is common to need to clear the screen before requesting new input or displaying new content. This is simple to achieve with a single method call. |
| Modifying the Console Cursor Appearance
When creating complex software that executes as a console application it can be useful to change the appearance of the cursor. The Console class permits some level of customisation, allowing the cursor size to be adjusted or the cursor to be hidden. |
| Console Application Input
Console applications are ideal for small tools and utilities where a graphical user interface is unnecessary. With console applications primary input is via the keyboard, either by requesting lines of text or detecting individual key presses. |
| Creating Fixed-Width Data Files
Fixed-width data files are an alternative to comma-separated values (CSV) for storing and sharing tabular data. The information in a fixed-width data set tends to use more storage or bandwidth than CSV but is more readable to humans. |
| Interrogating Printers with PrinterSettings
When creating an application that can print information, or send drawings to a plotter, it may be necessary to obtain information about all connected printing devices. Most of the information that is required can be read from the PrinterSettings class. |
| Encrypting and Decrypting Files
The Microsoft Windows operating system's New Technology File System (NTFS) includes the facility to encrypt files to reduce the risk that their contents are seen by unauthorised people. The encryption status of files can be controlled via .NET. |